Chowdhury S A, Hossain K, Barzegaran J. (2024). Insights into GHG Emissions from Asphalt Pavement Structures in Ontario. CSCE 2024 Annual Conference, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada. Accepted.

As the substantial impact of greenhouse gases (GHG) becomes increasingly apparent on global climate patterns, the precise quantification of these GHG emissions emerges as a crucial step in environmental conservation and climate change mitigation. Being an integral feature of modern transportation facilities, asphalt pavement infrastructures also contribute significantly to GHG emissions across their entire life cycle phases, influencing climate change. In this study, a detailed investigation was conducted to quantify the GHG emissions arising from various structural conditions of asphalt pavements employed in Ontario to ascertain whether variations in structural design conditions significantly influence their carbon footprint. A comprehensive pavement structural design matrix consisting of 25 conventional asphalt pavement structures was evaluated with various asphalt concrete mixes, vehicle percentages, and in-situ resilient modulus for different traffic volume roads, i.e., local, collector, minor arterial, and major arterial roads. After that, the incorporation of two sustainable pavement alternatives, i.e., warm mix asphalt (WMA) and recycled materials (RCA and RAP), was examined to assess their potential to reduce GHG emissions. This study reveals that the major arterial roads are the most substantial contributors to GHG emissions, which are at least 10% higher than emissions from other pavement types. Additionally, the inclusion of WMA and recycled materials reduces around 7.5% and 12% GHG emissions, respectively, compared to the lowest emissions from typical asphalt pavement structures. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive GHG emissions profile for Ontario’s pavement structures by establishing a detailed benchmark for tracking and ameliorating the environmental impacts of asphalt pavement infrastructures. It is also noteworthy that incorporating WMA and recycled materials emerges as the potential pathways for substantial emission reduction alternatives in pursuing environmental sustainability in asphalt pavement construction.